Given the qualitative, abrupt and rapid changes brought about by the ubiquity of digital technology in the lives of young people, Antonine University (UA) seeks to integrate this evolution into its practices to successfully inspire its learners to become enlightened and responsible, with a view to building a student community capable of adapting to the incessant transformations which are constantly gaining momentum in this digital world. As the rising generations is bombarded with information of all kinds and from all directions, UA believes that it is of great importance to currently utilize the digital tools and content in order to promote their reasoned and ethical use.
In this context, and within the framework of the "exceptional call for support for academic and scientific mobility in Lebanon" launched by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) Middle East, the Faculty of Information and Communication (FIC) had the pleasure of welcoming Prof. Sami Ben Amor, Deputy Director of the UFR Ingémédia (Training and Research Unit in Information and Communication Sciences) and Director of graduate program in Information Communication, as well faculty member at the IMSIC laboratory (Mediterranean Institute for Information and Communication Sciences) of the University of Toulon, who honored us with his presence from January 30 to February 5, 2022. The Professor had previously made several visits to UA to enrich the students’ learning experiences, especially that his precious expertise together with his solid and pedagogical vision render him a key figure in this field.
Here are some of the questions which were addressed to him to help us examine and shed light on different aspects of this technological innovation.
1. What are the key concepts that you focus on, be it in teaching or research?
As part of our research at the IMSIC laboratory in information and communication sciences (axis 1: challenges and uses of digital socio-technical devices and information mutations), we analyze the information, material, technical and sociocultural dynamics linked to digital technology, which affect all private and public activities. Our work falls within the sphere of a global reflection on the big data challenges, the relationship between scientific knowledge and that resulting from a constantly changing society in large national and international organizations and institutions.
In fact, we exploit this knowledge through our teaching to support students in understanding the different infometric approaches, the challenges associated with the exploitation of huge amounts of data, as well as the conditions for creating values nowadays at all levels: economic, ethical, legal, social, to name but a few. Finally, we address the ethical challenges and those of artificial intelligence resulting from the exploitation of big data.
2. How were you able to reconcile theory and practice in your teaching?
Evolving in the digital era requires to continuously call into question the teaching approaches and the content offered to students. I personally include my pedagogical sessions in a project-based inductive approach. In truth, understanding the challenges related to data (from the extraction to the processing and the implementation of decision support tools) entails going through phases of observation, specific analysis, implementation of digital devices for data exploitation, and many more general perspectives. This project approach also allows students to understand the need for the implementation of an information strategy to meet the information needs of companies, institutions, etc.
3. What were the main projects which you carried out and how did you manage to get them executed? Moreover, which ones do you intend to undertake in the short and long terms?
At the IMSIC laboratory, we have collaborated on several research projects and programs, for instance:
The ObTIC program (Information Society Observatory in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region): the objective was to observe the information society in the PACA region, similarly to its counterparts in other regions in France and Europe, with the aim of throwing light on public sector initiatives (quantitative and qualitative indicators).
The CRDP-CANOPE program (Centre for Educational Research and Development – National Center for Pedagogical Documentation): the objective was to observe the integration of digital technologies into learning spaces, the framing of the action, and the reflection on digital acculturation within the theoretical framework of DISTIC (sociotechnical information and communication devices).
The REMIE program: the objective was to evaluate the uses, services and innovative digital content in the education field, through a large-scale experiment (minimum of 2000 students and their teachers) in France.
The Incubator Program: the objective is to examine the collaborative practices, digital technology and participation of education stakeholders.
Several other projects have been set up within the educational framework, in partnership with industrialists, institutional investors or cultural actors.
4. Do you consider that our relationship to information has been altered and if so, how?
Yes indeed! The information must be useful to the user. Content editors are constantly developing algorithms to be in better positions and satisfy the user’s needs.
In fact, in today’s world, any information seeker is exposed to the phenomenon of information overload. The volume of information that is found is constantly growing. The organization of search engine results pages is based on the expectations of the Internet users, on their implicit and explicit satisfaction criteria, in a constantly changing market marked by significant financial challenges. Companies and content editors are implementing sophisticated strategies which exploit the potential of the marketing 2.0 in order to position themselves for success. This silent war conducted between the companies and between the content editors has contributed to the growth of the infobesity phenomenon.
Therefore, the new methods for content creation lead to the relegation of quality information to the background. We are assailed by the massive wave of heterogeneous and uncontrollable information of uneven quality. How can we sort and organize this information and avoid the infobesity epidemic?
5. What are the skills that students need to acquire in order to be successful in this field?
A good level of adaptability is above all necessary to deal with the digital and technological innovations that are emerging from one year to the next, especially those associated with artificial intelligence. What is most important is to never stand still in the face of the rapid and inevitable obsolescence of skills.
Moreover, students must be curious and act as real digital sponges. They must be capable of grasping the relevant information and the right opportunities in this sector of activity. They must be knowledgeable, keep up with the news on a daily basis, read precise, complete, documented content and analyze their colleagues’ feedback. In the field of information, this is crucial to succeed in the analysis and interpretation of data to make the most of it.
Furthermore, it is important for them to develop their analytical skills. Students must collect and process a data set from different sources. They must be able to get the data structured and organized to facilitate its analysis. All of the steps lead to the establishment of data-driven decision-making processes to take advantage of all the information which is useful to the company's activities and to help the managers make the right decisions about the future directions the company intends to take. In addition, the analysis makes it possible to confirm or refute hypotheses and theories to gain competitive advantage.
Lastly, technological innovations connected with the exploitation of data must be viewed by students with a critical eye. They need to inquire further as to its ethical dimensions as well as the new relationships between humans and machines.
6. How important is it to strengthen the international mobility of faculty members, especially that the globalization of information continues to accelerate?
International mobility is a crosscutting concept that is incorporated into all spheres of university life. Its objective is to allow for the continuous improvement in the programs and scientific exchanges and to enable the institution to acquire international reputation.
Despite the acceleration of the globalization of information, the best way to enrich pedagogical and scientific approaches, ideas, people and societies, is by strengthening the international mobility of faculty members. It contributes to the testing of theories, teaching models and research paradigms against the global realities. The aim is to try to reach the highest teaching and research quality standards through, for example, the implementation of projects at the grassroots level (faculty members and students).